Les,
OK, "empire" is probably not the right word, but what else should I have called it? It was pretty big.

They mistrusted writing. They saw how it was used to obscure the truth (rather than perpetuate it) in Greece, and chose to commit their knowledge to memory.

The reason the Romans so easily knocked them over I have already covered. ("Better" is probably not a good comparison of one culture to another)

So you're not Celtic, Roman, Viking, Jute or Norman. Neither am I, but I do like to know, as best I can, what went into whatever I am. I agree with you to a certain extent that it is a wank for most of us to call ourselves one thing or another, but I see no harm in it. If someone gets some pride or something out of it, it's probably a good wank.

John